Community events

Seekin' Haydn: A Long-Distance Musical Lecture from Manhattan

July 7, 2014

Paul Sheftel is a nationally-recognized leader in the area of keyboard studies. His numerous published materials are widely-used throughout the country. In his role as educator he has performed, lectured, and conducted workshops in across the nation. Currently he has embarked on a remarkable exploration of the sonatas of Joseph Haydn (1732 – 1809) throughout which he explicates the many gems and surprises found in the masters’ work. Using simple language, humor, and brilliant observation, Mr. Sheftel leads the audience through an imagined rarefied gallery of sound while pointing out the superior work which made Haydn a legend among composers.

Using Yamaha Disklavier technology and the Internet, Paul Sheftel will transmit a live presentation from his "Haydn Seek" series from his apartment in Manhattan to the audience in Fairbanks, Alaska. The presentation will include live video of Mr. Sheftel as he speaks, while the Yamaha Disklavier in Fairbanks will play for the audience as Mr. Sheftel and his surprise guests play in Manhattan, in real time.

Up Close and Personal: Community Clinics with Piano Competitors

July 8-9, 2014

Competitors from the Alaska International Piano-e-Competition will give a brief demonstration, then open themselves up to the audience to discuss their studies, motivations, experiences, and the music they play. These events offer a unique opportunity for community members of all ages to connect personally with the competitors and learn from them.

July 8: Shih-Wei Huang, Taiwan

Shih-Wei Huang will perform in the community clinic on July 8 with host Susie Hackett from KUAC. She will perform a number of classical pieces, demonstrating her repertoire and playing style, and answer questions from the host and from the audience.

Born in 1988 in Taipei, Shih-Wei Huang completed her bachelor’s degree at the Curtis Institute and her master’s degree at Yale University.

She is a laureate of several piano competitions and artist awards in the United States, Italy and Taiwan. She won the 52nd Annual Sorantin International Competition for Piano in 2011. She was honored as a Steinway Young Artist in 2014.

July 9: Martin Leung, United States

Known as the Video Game Pianist, Martin Leung is one of the first musicians of the ’net generation to adapt game music to performance. He will perform part of his expansive repertoire of video game music for the audience, answer questions from the host and the audience, and give a playful yet thoughtful examination of the growing role of video game music to inspiring young musicians. Lori Neufeld of KUAC will host this event.

He won global acclaim at 17 in 2004 with what the New York Times described as his "signature blindfolded performance" of the Super Mario Bros. theme and a spirited Mario medley. His homemade video, filmed in one take and uploaded to the pre-YouTube web 1.0, attracted about 40 million views. Leung is studying for his doctoral degree at the Unversity of Southern California and recently lectured there on the musical techniques within video game compositions and the legitimacy of this music in the repertoire.

Creating Musical Connections: Toronto Technology Demonstration

July 12, 2014

We invite you to experience the wonder, joy and beauty of meaningful musical connections. As continents, countries and people are brought close together by increasingly transparent technologies, we now place more value into the true connections and personal human experiences. This lecture-demonstration will explore the range of musical interactions possible on the Disklavier, and will feature live performances of one of our wonderful competition contestants and an aspiring young pianist from Toronto, Canada. Discover the possibilities of expanding musical horizons for music students and music lovers everywhere.